Portuguese CeylonPortuguese Ceylon (Portuguese: Ceilão Português, Sinhala:
පෘතුගීසි ලංකාව Puruthugisi Lankawa) was the
control of the
Kingdom of KotteKingdom of Kotte by the Portuguese Empire, in
present-day Sri Lanka, after the country's Crisis of the Sixteenth
Century and into the Kandyan period.
The Portuguese presence in the island lasted from 1505 to 1658. Their
arrival was largely accidental, as they sought control of commerce,
rather than territory. Their appearance coincided with the political
upheaval of the Wijayaba Kollaya, and they were drawn into the
internal politics of the island as they sought to establish control
over the lucrative cinnamon trade that originated there. The
Portuguese used these internal divisions to their advantage during the
Sinhalese–Portuguese War. Direct Portuguese rule inside the island
did not begin until after the death of Dharmapala of Kotte, who died
without an heir. He bequeathed the
Kingdom of KotteKingdom of Kotte to the Portuguese
monarch in 1580.[1] That allowed the Portuguese sufficient claim to
the
Kingdom of KotteKingdom of Kotte upon Dharmapala's death in 1597. Portuguese rule
began with much resistance by the local population.[2]
Eventually, the
Kingdom of KandyKingdom of Kandy sought help from the
Dutch EmpireDutch Empire in
their efforts to rid the island of the Portuguese. The Dutch Empire
initially entered into agreement with the Kingdom of Kandy. After the
collapse of the Iberian economy in 1627, the Dutch–Portuguese War
saw the Dutch conquest of most of Portugal's Asian colonies.
Eventually, Portugal's Ceylonese territories were ceded to the
Netherlands. Nevertheless, elements of Portuguese culture from this
colonial period remain to this day, in Sri Lanka.

History[edit]
The first contact between
Sri LankaSri Lanka and the Portuguese happened in
1505-6. It was largely accidental and it wasn't until 12 years later
that the Portuguese sought to establish a fortified trading
settlement.[3]
Jaffna kingdom–Portuguese War[edit]
Main article: Portuguese conquest of the Jaffna kingdom
Sinhalese–Portuguese War[edit]
Main article: Sinhalese–Portuguese War
Portuguese rule[edit]
Direct Portuguese rule began after the death of Dharmapala of Kotte
who bequeathed the
Kingdom of KotteKingdom of Kotte to the Portuguese monarch.[4] By
1600 the Portuguese had consolidated the main centers of rebellion,
the Kelani and Kalu ganga basins, leaving the border regions to
Sinhalese resistance.[5]

Revolts

In the two decades after the establishment of Portuguese rule there
were four major revolts:[6]

Prehistory
Early kingdoms period
Anuradhapura period
Polonnaruwa period
Transitional period
Crisis of the Sixteenth Century
Kandyan period
History of British Ceylon
History of
Sri LankaSri Lanka (1948–present)

Coats of arms of Portuguese colonies
Evolution of the Portuguese Empire
Portuguese colonial architecture
Portuguese colonialism in Indonesia
Portuguese colonization of the Americas
Theory of the Portuguese disc